Beauty of Truth
by Roslin Fan
Summary: Bill accepts certain truths...


"_The beauty of the truth is that it need not be proclaimed or believed. It skips from soul to soul, changing form each time it touches, but it is what it is, I have seen it, and someday you will, too."_

_ -Winter's Tale _by Mark Helprin

Bill studied her sleeping form. Watching her face and listening to her soft snoring overcame him. They'd come a long way in a short time.

He arrested Laura because she broke her word and turned his children against him. He also couldn't believe in her mysticism.

Bill had been an atheist since his childhood. It wasn't something that his parents had intentionally-or unintentionally-imparted on him. It just happened that way. Religion simply wasn't part of his life, of his family's lives. Early on, Bill knew his parents' lives were impacted by much more tangible things than the gods: loss.

Joseph had become a hard man after his first family was killed-before Bill was even born. Bill may not have had the chance to know them, but he still felt the loss. His father could never relate to his youngest-and only surviving-child. They had little in common. But there were a few traits they shared. They loved books, preferred facts to guesses, knew when to roll a hard six. They were both atheists-not out of any repudiation of the mainstream sects of Colonial faith but simply because neither men had seen anything to convince them in the existence of the gods. Finally, they both preferred strong willed, independent women.

Bill hadn't realized that last similarity until he met Laura Roslin. He didn't realize just how strong and independent she was until after he'd arrested her. Saul and Cottle filled in many of the details after he came out of his coma, and Corporal Venner went on for a solid twenty minutes about how brave she was. How she was shot at close range by a centurion, and the bullets didn't even touch her. Bill wished he had that particular skill. It would have saved him a lot of trouble.

The typically taciturn and grumpy doctor was very defensive of the deposed President. Cottle didn't believe in the mystical mumbo jumbo much more than Bill did, but he believed in Laura's strength of character. Bill watched Dr. Cottle fight tears as he explained Laura's condition.

Bill couldn't believe in her when she first told him about Kobol. Laura didn't need him to, though. She was able to enlist those closest to Bill. Even when she was in the brig, key members of Galactica showed her more loyalty than their long serving XO.

He still didn't have enough facts, but he realized he'd been missing something that everyone else saw. Laura was special. It didn't matter how special. Or what that meant in the long term. She just was. She believed in herself and was someone others wanted to believe in. In a post apocalyptic world, Laura Roslin may just be the biggest source of hope for humanity. When Bill was honest with himself-after his talk with Dee-he realized Laura's mysticism wasn't much different than his lie. Only in her case, there was a chance of it being true.

So, he went to Kobol. He found his family and Laura. And he finally _saw _it. What he'd been missing. Laura Roslin was beautiful-the most beautiful mess he'd ever seen. He knew he believed in her-even before they spoke about their differences.

That night, they set up camp. They would finish their journey to the tomb in the morning.

Bill set his sleeping bag a few yards away from Laura's. It made sense for the two leaders to share a tarp; that way, there would only be one place for Tyrol and a marine to guard.

After weeks of separation, Laura was closer to Bill than she'd ever been. They exchanged niceties about a pleasant sleep. Then, she climbed into her sleeping bag, and he followed suit. The soft snore told him she'd fallen asleep. He was impressed with her ability to sleep on the cold hard ground. He'd dismissed her as a school teacher who had no knowledge of war or the military. It was humbling to realize she was a natural leader: She would have made a fine officer, probably an admiral.

He should have been tired. Hell, he was exhausted. But he couldn't sleep. So he sat up in the bag and watched Laura. She was beautiful. He couldn't believe she was dying. It was true, though. Just like her prophesies were probably true. Laura was a lot of things, but he'd learned she wasn't dishonest. If she said something, she truly believed it.

An indeterminate amount of time had passed before she stirred. Her arms stretched out like a cat. Then her eyes opened. She watched him watch her; still in the interstitial space between sleeping and waking.

Her haze didn't last long. "Bill?"

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just watching you sleep."

"Hmm. You should probably be sleeping yourself, Commander."

"Can't. I tried."

"I thought you military types were trained to sleep anywhere." Even in the darkness he could see her smirk.

He shook his head. "We are. It's not the terrain."

"Oh. What is it?" He could hear the concern in his voice. She cared about him when he'd terminated her presidency and put her in jail.

"I don't know."

Laura crawled out of her sleeping bag, got up, and moved the bag closer to Bill's, before crawling back inside. She reached for his hand and took it, caressing it softly.

"Ready to try and get some sleep, now?"

Bill nodded.

Laura lay on her right side, facing Bill, still holding his hand. Bill lay down in his bag, using his free arm for support. He lay on his left side.

That time, when they wished each other a good night, Bill knew it would be.

He didn't have to tell her he believed in her anymore than he had to tell her he loved her. She already knew. That was the beauty of truth. She'd seen it before he did, but now he could see it. For the rest of his life, he'd be grateful for her gift.


End file.
